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Fashion birthday

October 28, 2014

Edith Head, costume designer extraordinaire, was born on this day in 1897! Head designed costumes for hundreds of films and dressed some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Kim Novak, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Mae West, and Marlene Dietrich. During her more than fifty years as a costume designer, Head was nominated for thirty-five Academy Awards and received eight. She passed away in 1981, soon after finishing costumes for Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, a Steve Martin parody of a classic film noir.

Born in California, Edith Head spent her early childhood moving frequently between mining camps in Nevada and Mexico. Living in rural areas, Head had few playmates and no siblings. As a child, Head would dress her pets and dolls in fabric scraps. Later in life, Head encourage herself by saying, "anyone who can dress a horn toad, can dress anything!"1 She also learned to speak fluent Spanish, a skill that would prove useful throughout her career.

As a teen, Head and her mother settled in Los Angeles, where Edith graduated from high school. She also went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Berkeley and a master's degree in Romance languages from Stanford University. Putting her language skills to use, Head secured a series of positions teaching languages and drawing at Los Angeles area high schools. During the evening, she took drawing classes at the Otis Art Institute and the Chouinard Art Institute. Eventually, in 1923 or 1924, Head applied for a position as a costume sketcher working under Howard Greer at Famous Players-Lasky Studio (later Paramount). Not confident of her abilities, she "borrowed" sketches from Chouinard classmates for her interview. Though Head soon confessed her deception, Greer kept her on, in part, Head believed, because of her skill with foreign languages.

After getting her start at Famous Players-Lasky, Edith Head began moving up the ladder of success. At first, she primarily designed costumes for background extras. In 1938, when Travis Banton (who had succeeded Howard Greer) left his position, Head was promoted from assistant to chief designer. In the 1940s and 50s, she often had "three hundred sketchers, drapers, cutter and finishers" working on various costume designs.2 As a costume designer, Head tried to accentuate the best features of each actress, while also taking into account the character that the actress was playing. Her costuming skill earned her a role as a trusted commentator; she was often interviewed on fashion for the everyday woman and her name was used to promote everything from shoes and hosiery to ready-to-wear fashions.

Edith Head with three female models. A hand-written note on this image indicates that the photo was taken during the Screen Directors' Fashion Show for the Audrey Hepburn film Funny Face (1957). Head and Hubert de Givenchy both contributed costumes to this film.April 1, 1957Gift of Richard BagleySC2011.1156.27

Edith Head and Grace Kelly look at a sea of fashion sketches. Head costumed Kelly in Rear Window (1954) and designed the ice-blue satin gown that Kelly wore to receive her 1955 Academy Award for The Country Girl (1954).c. 1950-59Gift of Richard BagleySC2011.1156.29

August 19, 2014

Happy birthday to Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel! Born 130 years ago on August 19, 1883, Chanel was an innovator and savvy self-promoter. Her eponymous brand is still going strong with designer Karl Lagerfeld at the helm. In tribute to Chanel, Lagerfeld often references her aesthetic signatures (pearls, camellias, tweed suits) in his Chanel collections. Today's blog post, first published in 2012, celebrates Chanel's legacy by exploring a daisy-patterned afternoon dress from the late 1930s.

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Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel's (1883-1971) reputation is staked primarily on her exploration of menswear-inspired suits and her promotion of the understated little black dress. Though these creations are an important part of her aesthetic, her designs didn't always exude a strict less-is-more philosophy. Many of Chanel's evening wear designs, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s, glittered with embellishment. She also designed feminine, romantic day wear like the c. 1937 afternoon dress pictured here.

The softly feminine silhouette seen here demonstrates the 1930s turn away from the streamlined 1920s silhouette. Instead of unshaped sheath dresses that disguised the body, 1930s fashion focused on showcasing the female form with form-fitting, bias-cut dresses and tailored suits that emphasized the waist. Chanel's chiffon afternoon dress features a seam at the natural waist, and a self-fabric belt for emphasis. The flowing skirt is cut on the bias, and would float gracefully around the wearer's legs when walking. Because of its mid-calf length, we know this dress was intended for day wear.

Despite her reputation for a pared-down aesthetic, Chanel was no stranger to flowers and frou-frou. Throughout the 1930s, flowers were an extremely popular decorative device. In 1935 it was reported that, "all Paris today is wearing flowers, both real and artificial."1 Floral patterns were a favorite for day and evening dresses, used as dimensional decoration on garments and accessories and for decoration in the hair. Chanel used flowers (often a camellia) as a soft accent on garments, as a motif in her jewelry designs, and as textile pattern. In this afternoon dress, Chanel used self-fabric, cut-out flowers to embellish the neckline and unusual split sleeves. Individual daisies were carefully cut from a length of filmy chiffon, stacked, and sewn around the scooped neckline and sleeves. Chanel's use of this inventive, time-consuming embellishment elevates an otherwise straightforward afternoon dress to the level of haute couture.

April 24, 2014

Happy birthday to John Paul Gaultier! Born on April 24, 1952, Gaultier celebrates his 62nd birthday today. We're commemorating the occasion by sharing a pair of playful, high-waisted jodphur-style jeans from the designer's JPG by Gaultier line.

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Jean Paul Gaultier specializes in joyfully rejecting conventional distinctions between masculine and feminine dress. 'Une garde-robe pour deux' (A wardrobe for two), a 1985 Gaultier illustration, portrays a man and women in nearly identical ensembles of wide-legged trousers, midriff-baring tops and oversized jackets. In a play on expectations, Gaultier gives the man a long pony-tail, while the women sports short hair. Gaultier's most notorious experiments in gender-bending are his skirts for men. First introduced in 1985, Gaultier played with the idea of men in skirts through the 1990s. He offered a variety of styles, including kilts, sarongs, tunics and long maxi skirts. Gaultier's comment, "masculinity is not connected to the clothes you're wearing--it's in the mind," offers a basis for his belief in this sometimes controversial mode of dressing.1 For Madonna's 1990 Blond Ambition tour, Gaultier designed a blue velvet cone bra to be worn by male back-up dancers. This bra complemented Madonna's own outfit, a pale pink corset.

April 22, 2014

Happy 76th birthday to Issey Miyake, born on April 22, 1938! In celebration of the designer's birthday, we offer this provocative Issey Miyake orange and white ensemble.

Suit Spring/Summer 2001 Issey Miyake Museum Purchase 2003.5.7AB

Issey Miyake (b. 1938) learned impeccable dressmaking skills at the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in 1965. Yet in the wake of the decade's mounting social discord and political unrest, he came to believe that the bastion of haute couture was no longer relevant to postmodern lifestyles. Miyake opened his Tokyo design studio in 1970, focused on creating ready-to-wear clothing. "Sometimes my clothes are radical, probably sometimes challenging, but I try not to fear radical things," he explained.1

Miyake's Spring/Summer 2001 menswear collection was termed "Pneumatic pret-a-porter" by the fashion press due to the air-filled padding built into many of the garments. This vivid ensemble was inspired by American football uniforms. The blazer is constructed of printed nylon mesh generally reserved for team jerseys; the knickers contain inflatable plastic bladders inserted over the outer thighs and knees to mimic players' protective gear. The clothing morphs the wearer's body into that of a sports hero, enlarging his frame into an imposing physique while cushioning it to withstand the blows of stressful urban living.

April 08, 2014

Happy birthday to Dame Vivienne Westwood! Born on April 8, 1941, Westwood's career has spanned generations of fashion, from 1970s punk to her more recent interest in historicism. Today we salute her work by taking a close look at a plaid wool suit she designed in the early 1990s.

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British designer Vivienne Westwood (b.1941) began her fashion career in the early 1970s, just as the prevailing fashions began a shift towards the aggressive look of punk. Embracing a design sense that explored the possibilities of decay and destruction, punk was a challenge to the concept of clothing as a means to beautify the individual. Though Westwood did not single-handedly generate the edgy and confrontational look of punk, her early work is closely associated with the visual essentials of punk style, including bondage references and intentionally ripped or torn fabrics. While these design features may seem almost commonplace today, in the late 1970s they were a radical departure from the romantic and non-Western influences present in late sixties style. This new look was simultaneously shocking and influential.

September 24, 2013

Happy birthday to Patrick Kelly, born on September 24, 1954! This button-embellished ensemble is a wonderful example of Kelly's exuberant, playful aesthetic. Using a riot of mismatched buttons, Kelly transformed a simple wool sheath into a striking, stare-worthy garment. Arranged in the shape of a heart, the buttons create a trompe l'oeil bustier. Gauntlet-style gloves, also decorated with buttons, complete the ensemble. Kelly's body-conscious dresses embellished with brightly colored ornaments in playful patterns appealed to outgoing women with shapely physiques, causing the New York Times to remark: "Clearly, these were clothes for women who believed that if you have it, flaunt it."1

Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Kelly was interested in fashion from an early age. In a 1986 interview, the designer recounted his experience attending the Ebony Fashion Fair, a traveling fashion show featuring black models: "I didn't have money, and I had to fight my way to get there because even at age 12 I knew I wanted to be a designer."2 Kelly persevered, working a series fashion-related odd-jobs in Atlanta and New York (where he studied fashion at Parsons), before moving to Paris. Arriving in Paris with almost no money, Kelly began selling his own designs on the street in front of a fashionable boutique. These early creations were popular, and the charismatic designer was eventually able to launch his own line.

Patrick Kelly often decorated his body-conscious designs with three-dimensional elements, including tiny ribbon bows, dice, plastic black baby-dolls, and buttons. Buttons were a particular favorite and Kelly always credited his grandmother as the inspiration behind his attachment to buttons. As a child, Kelly frequently lost buttons. His grandmother would replace the missing buttons with mismatched buttons. When Kelly complained, she began peppering his clothing with purely decorative, completely unmatched buttons. As a designer, Kelly turned this embarrassing memory into one of his trademarks.

August 08, 2013

Rudi Gernreich was born on August 8, 1922; today would have been his 91st birthday. As a fashion designer, Gernreich was interested in freeing the body from physical and psychological constraints. His interest in experimentation was sometimes shocking. Gernreich's most infamous design is the breast-baring 1964 monokini swimsuit, which challenged commonly accepted notions regarding physical decency.

The FIDM Museum is extremely fortunate to house the Rudi Gernreich Archive, an extensive collection of Gernreich garments, accessories, patterns, furniture, scrapbooks, and other
miscellanea. The Archive demonstrates Gernreich's wide-ranging creativity and includes nearly 1,000 objects. Most of the objects in the archive were donated to the FIDM Museum soon after Gernreich's death in 1985. This graphic ensemble, which was designed by Gernreich in the late 1960s, is an important part of the Archive.Tunic Ensemble
Rudi Gernreich
Fall/Winter 1967-68
G2005.5.42A-C & G2006.5.23
Museum Purchase

Born in Vienna, Austria, Gernreich fled to Los Angeles in 1938 to escape escalating tensions caused by Adolf Hitler's rise to power; he would spend the rest of his life immersed in the Southern California art scene. In 1942, he joined the Lester Horton Dance Theater, where he performed modern dance and designed stage costumes. Gernreich left the troupe to focus on fashion, producing his first ready-to-wear line in 1952. Gernreich's early stage experience provided years of inspiration; his designs always combined ease of movement with theatrical flair. In 1967, he said: "Fashion has become play acting, spooking, wild, and charming. A woman can look like anything she wants—a schoolboy, a kindergartner, a gangster."1

This look, nicknamed "Japanese Schoolboy," exemplifies the late-1960s fashion scene and its interest in androgyny. It consists of the same Breton-style hat, tunic, shorts, and knee socks first worn as school uniforms by boys in post-World War II Japan; clients could even purchase a matching knapsack. Gernreich's creation coincided with unrest in the Japanese educational system that culminated in the violent 1967-68 student protests.

May 10, 2013

Happy birthday to Miuccia Prada, born on May 10, 1949! Prada, the creative force behind her family's 100 year old company, has a knack for distilling her interests (in and outside of fashion) into influential collections that chart the course of fashion. Miuccia Prada's design philosophy revolves around a version of aspirational dressing: "Clothes should always represent your vision of
yourself...or what you want to represent—even if it's only for one night."1 Her approach to design is thoughtful. Rather than providing pat answers regarding her inspiration for a particular collection, Miuccia Prada offers explanations that hint at her interest in connecting fashion with broader cultural issues. Regarding her Spring 2013 collection, Prada declared, "Dream is forbidden, nostalgia is forbidden, to be too sweet is not good. Everything we used to feel historically, now you can't enjoy. The clothes are the expression of this impossible dream."2

April 08, 2013

Happy birthday to Vivienne Westwood, born on this day in 1941! We wish her the best and look forward to many more of her inventive designs. Though Westwood's early career, which began in the early 1970s, was closely associated with punk, by the 1980s she had turned to the past for her primary inspiration. Never one for straight-forward interpretation of historic fashion, Westwood's work reinterprets aspects of history, making them relevant to the contemporary moment.

February 21, 2013

Couturier Hubert de Givenchy was born on this day in 1927. Now retired, Givenchy is one of the last living couturiers to have learned his art during the golden age of the haute couture. His training began in 1945 when he took a position with Jacques Fath. By December 1951, when Givenchy opened his own couture house, he had trained under Jacques Fath, Robert Piguet, Lucien Lelong and Elsa Schiaparelli. Vogue highlighted Givenchy's February 1952 debut collection, calling it "one of the most news-worthy happenings in Paris this spring."1 The collection was notable for its emphasis on separates, including the crisp white Bettina blouse, modeled by Bettina Graziani. A version of the Bettina blouse is seen in this March 1952 Life magazine article on Givenchy's debut collection.